


Wait, there are how many Bats?

by arya_dragonlover



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Bat Family, F/M, Family Secrets, Meet the Bats, Meet the Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-08 13:19:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14695023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arya_dragonlover/pseuds/arya_dragonlover
Summary: It was an ordinary day in the cave, that was until Robin zetaed into the cave and dashed to the zeta controls. After a moment of frantic typing, the zeta tube activated and a large group of strangers zetaed into the cave. They were all dressed in costumes, but what was most unusual is that most of them had either a bat or a bird symbol on their chests. The team looked at each other in confusion; the only people who wore those symbols were Batman and Nightwing, neither of whom where there. A single thought passed through the team’s mind: ‘who were these people?’





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer:  
> This is a work of fiction written for fun, not profit. All the characters belong to DC and were created by much more inspired minds than mine. 
> 
> AN:  
> *IMPORTANT READ BEFORE YOU START THE FIC*: In this fiction there are a few changes to the original cartoon (Season 2). 1) Batgirl never joined the team. 2) The cave design is different, with the recreation zone being in the same room as the zeta tubes. 3) None of the team members have been to Gotham (Artemis went to school in Star City). 4) The only well know Gotham heroes (outside of Gotham and Blüdhaven) are Batman, Robin and Nightwing. 5) Wally does not know anything personal about Nightwing, they are only friends in costume and Batman has very strict rules about keeping identities a secret. 
> 
> Please know that for the first chapter Robin refers to Red Robin/ Tim Drake. The team does not learn and internalise his ‘new’ name until chapter two.
> 
> *A/N:* This is my first Bat family and Young Justice fanfiction. I am a big fan of fanfictions written in these fandoms, but have never read the comics. So, please be kind if I make any mistakes. I will do my best to accommodate any corrections that reviewers provide, but some of these changes/ inconsistencies need to remain for the story to work

It was just an ordinary day in the cave. M’gann, Karen, Artemis and Zatana were lounging on the couches, talking about how difficult being a superhero made dating and other girl talk. Garfield and Jamie were sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by papers detailing blueprints and team rosters. The girls occasionally shot warning looks at the two boys, whom were clearly planning a prank of some sort. Kaldur and Conner were sparing in the next room.

Wally raced into the room and skidded to a stop in front of the girls. He flopped down onto the nearest couch, which Artemis was sitting on. With his head in her lap, he looked up at her annoyed face and smirked.

“Hey babe,” he said, “I’m bored. Let’s do something together.”

“Really Wally,” Artemis sighed, “Can’t you see that I’m busy? Go find someone else to bother.”

“Can’t,” Wally complained, “Everyone is busy. God, I wish something interesting would happen.”

The words had scarcely left his mouth before the zeta tube activated.

“Recognised Robin B-1-3,” the computer intoned.

Everyone turned to look at the zeta tubes and watched as Robin exited at a run. Gasps of surprise escaped from M’gann, Cassie and Wally as they took in Robin’s dishevelled appearance. His suit was ripped in multiple places and there was a deep cut on his arm, which was bleeding steadily. His cape was in tatters, shortened in length to the middle of his back, instead of billowing around his legs. The burnt ends of the cap fluttered behind him as he dashed to the zeta tube controls. But what surprised the team the most was that Robin was wearing a completely different costume. His black and yellow cape was replaced with one of black and red. Across his chest were two utility belts that formed a cross with a strange bird symbol. The outfit was missing the (R) symbol that had always been on the robin uniform.

Whilst the team stared at Robin in surprise, Robin began frantically typing at the zeta tube control console. The team started in surprise as the computer spoke. 

“Emergency cave lockdown initiated. Authorisation B-F-0-6. All entrances secured. Awaiting final authorisation for zeta tube lock down”. 

“Robin,” called Kaldur, who had entered the zeta tube room with Conner during the lockdown announcement, “What are you doing? Why have you locked down the cave?”

“Yeh, and what is with that designation?” asked Garfield.

Robin did not respond; he simple kept on typing frantically at the computer. Wally sped over to the console and peeked over Robin’s shoulder. His expression changed from interested to confused as he beheld the speeding lines of code on the screen. It was only thanks to his super speed that he could keep up with the speed of the text. He sent a wondering look at Robin, unable to comprehend how he could type that fast.   
Robin keyed in the final command and swayed alarmingly, almost falling over. Wally caught him before he could hit the ground. His curious look changed to one of concern when he felt the blood that had seeped through Robin’s clothes. The rest of the team had darted forward when they had seen Robin fall and were all hovering around the fallen hero in concern. 

“What happened-“ 

“Hey, Robin-“ 

“Dude, are you ok?” 

Their questions melded together into a white noise that made Robin’s head ring.

He pushed himself away from Kid Flash and stood up, using the console for support. Before the team could ask any more questions, they were distracted once more by the computer.

“Recognised B-F-0-8. Recognised B-F-0-7. Recognised B-F-0-4, B-F-0-5,” the computer announced.

The entire team turned to stare at the zeta tubes and the new comers. 

Four people had exited the zeta tube. The first was a blonde-haired girl in an armoured black body suit and cape. There were purple highlights that ran along the side of her legs, arms and torso of her costume and the underside of her cape was also purple. A utility belt was wrapped around her waist and a pouch was strapped to her right leg. A black cowl similar in design to Batman’s covered her face and blazed upon her chest was a yellow bat symbol. Like Robin, her cape and armoured suit were damaged. But whilst Robin’s appeared to have been sliced up, the blonde-haired girl looked as though her clothes had been burned. 

The second intruder was also a female wearing a black body suit and cape. Unlike the first girl, there were no highlights along her costume and the underside of her cape was the same golden yellow as the bat symbol upon her chest. Her black hair flowed freely about her tanned face and she wore a domino mask, which highlighted her black eyes. She appeared less injured than the other girl, with only a cut upon her cheek and a slight limp. 

Both of the costumed girls were in defensive positions in front of the final two newcomers. Whilst their unexpected appearance and apparent injuries had surprised the team, it was nothing compared to how they responded when they saw the other two strangers. 

It was the gun in the man’s hand that surprised the team. None of the heroes that they knew of used such a weapon. There was another clearly strapped to his thigh and the bulges underneath his red leather jacket indicated that there were other weapons hidden upon his person. His expression was unreadable as he wore a red helmet that covered his entire face. His body language screamed hostility and there was blood splattered all over his clothes. The team would have attacked him, if not for two things: the red bat symbol upon his chest and the woman that he cradled protectively in his arms. 

The woman was dressed the strangest of all of the intruders. In contrast to the others, she was in civilian clothes; a pair of jeans and a green, close fitting shirt. Her red hair was a mess and her clothes were singed. But aside from the burns upon her arms and the damage to the back of her clothes, she did not appear to be injured. This lack of major injury perplexed the team, because if she wasn’t injured, why was she being carried?

 

All four of the newcomers took in their surroundings with the trained eye of a fighter. Their body language was tense and defensive as they scanned the room. The defensive body language of the girls and woman only relaxed when their gaze alighted upon Robin. They all moved away from the zeta tube and headed towards Robin. The two girls maintained a defensive perimeter around the other two and the man tucked the woman in his arms tighter to his chest and shifted slightly so that he was between her and the team. Most of the team noticed the defensive organisation of the group and rightly concluded that they were protecting the woman.

“Where are the others?” asked Robin, causing the team to look at him in surprise.

>There are more?< thought M’gann to the rest of the team.

“They’re coming Replacement,” the man in the red helmet sneered, “They’re just ensuring that we’re not followed.”

“No need to be rude Hood,” the girl with the purple cape said as she elbowed the helmeted man in the ribs, “Red Robin is just making sure nothing happened.”

Hood mumbled something in response, but none of the team except for Conner heard the uncouth response as the computer chimed once more.

“Recognised B-F-0-9. Recognised B-F-0-3”.

Two more costumed individuals stepped out of the zeta tubes. The team did a double take as they recognised the two heroes. The tall male wore a black armoured body suit like the others, but his had a pale blue bird upon his chest. There was a stab wound in his shoulder and a number of minor slashes upon his arms and torso. The younger male couldn’t have been older than eleven and wore the robin suit that the team knew well. The problem was that the red top, black pants and black and yellow cape were on a stranger and not their Robin, who was standing next to the zeta controls dressed in an unknown costume. This boy was unknown to them and was favouring his left arm, which was clearly broken. 

About three seconds after they exited the zeta, it suddenly lost power.

“Zeta connection lost,” the computer intoned.

“Zeta tube lock down,” said the man with the blue bird upon his chest, “Authorisation Nightwing, B-F-0-3.”

“Lock down confirmed,” the computer responded “Siege protocol activated.”

>Siege protocol?< thought Garfield >Since when have we had a siege protocol?<

>I do not know,< Kaldur thought back, >I was never briefed about such protocol.<

“Yo, Golden Boy,” called Hood tauntingly and distracting the team from their mental conversation, “What took you so long? You stop for a chat?”

“-tt-,” sneered the boy in the robin uniform, “We ensured that the pursuing enemies were annihilated and that any additional opponents would be unable to gain access to this stronghold. Something that appears to be too complicated for you to understand Todd.” 

“Why, you Demon spawn,” snarled Hood as he started towards the younger boy.

“Whoa, Baby bird, no names” said Nightwing, at the same time as the woman in Hood’s arms shifted and faced all of the unknown heroes.

“That’s enough,” she said, with a fire in her green eyes that quietened any disagreement. “All of us are injured. We are heading to the infirmary, and there will be no arguing or trying to kill each other until this crisis is over.”

>Kill each other?< Artemis thought at Wally.

>Don’t look at me, Babe,< he thought back with a shrug. >I have no more of an idea about what is going on than anyone else.<

>Shh,< thought Jamie. >I can’t focus on what their saying.<

“O!” Nightwing cried out relief, refocusing the team on the intruders as he darting towards the red headed woman and started fussing. “Are you ok? Both of you?”

“We’re fine,” the woman O replied.

“Of course she’s fine,” the blonde girl said, whilst Hood snorted. “She was with us.”

“Your presence, and that of Hood’s, does not provide any substantial protection, Fatgirl,” Baby bird sneered.

The blonde-haired Fatgirl bristled at the insult and opened her mouth to retaliate. But before she could retort and continue the hostility, Aqualad interrupted.

“Enough,” said Kaldur firmly and the cave fell silent. “Now Nightwing, Robin, would you care to explain what is going on and who these strangers are?”

“We were attacked,” Nightwing said as Robin walked over to the intruders. “They targeted each of us and the clock tower, one of our main bases of operations. We believe that the bat cave is also compromised, so we are regrouping here.”

“Well that answers the why,” Karen declared. “But not the who.”

“Family,” said the black-haired Asian girl who had yet to speak. “We are the Bat Family.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Family!” shouted Wally in surprise, turning to Nightwing with a betrayed look upon his face.  
“Why didn’t you tell me that you had a family? I mean, dude, we’ve been friends for years! We were sidekicks together.”

“Indeed Nightwing,” Kaldur said calmly. “Why did you not trust us with this information?”

“You know how Batman is about secret identities,” Nightwing said with a sigh and a slightly guilty smile. “After all those years protecting your identity, you start to keep any important personal information quiet, especially if it keeps those you love safe.”

“Aww, Dickie bird loves us,” Hood cooed mockingly.

“Shut up, Hood,” snarled Baby bird.

“Make me, Demon” retaliated Hood.

>Don’t those two ever stop fighting?< thought Zatana as Hood and Baby bird continued to trade insults.

>Doubt it,< Karen thought. >That fight looks like it started ages ago.<

“It is good for family to love each other,” the Asian girl said, interrupting the arguing males. “Makes us strong.”

Both Hood and Baby bird got a pained look on their faces at her statement, but stopped arguing. Robin took opportunity of the sudden silence and started towards the door that led deeper into the cave.

“Come on,” he called to his family. “The infirmary is this way.”

The rest of the bat family followed Robin out of the room. The girls left first, the blonde-haired girl supporting the black-haired Asian girl as she limped along. Hood followed next, no longer carrying O as he had passed her over to Nightwing, while Baby Bird took up the rear.

The team followed behind the bat family, speculation and questions flowing through the mental link. Wally and Kaldur were emitting feelings of betrayal and curiosity. Jamie and Garfield were excitedly theorising about what skills the new bats may have. The rest of the team listened to the conversation, adding in their own thoughts about the new heroes. As the bats entered the infirmary, Conner held up a hand, stopping the team before they could enter the room.

“We can’t all go in,” he said.

Jamie opened his mouth to protest, but Kaldur spoke first.

“You are right,” he agreed. “We do not want Robin and Nightwing to feel outnumbered. If we want answers, they have to feel that we are not a threat to them.”  
“Then perhaps we should have just the original team members go in?” suggested Wally.

That sparked loud protests from Garfield, Karen, Jamie and Zatana, none of whom wished to be left out.

“I will relay everything to you using the telepathic link,” M’gann said, calming down the upset heroes. “We are not trying to keep you in the dark, we simply want to get answers.”

“Fine,” acquiesced Karen.

She and the other members of the team sat down in the chairs that were located outside the infirmary as the five original team members entered the infirmary. The bat family were split up into small groups, tending to each other’s wounds. Nightwing was fussing around O and the blonde haired girl, applying a burn salve to the burns on O’s arms as she sat on the bed. Hood was tending to the cut on Robin’s arm, whilst the black haired girl was applying a cast to the boy in the robin suit. Each member of the bat family turned to look at the five heroes as they entered the infirmary. Artemis and Wally shared a discomforted look; it was creepy enough when Robin and Nightwing did that, it was way to creepy to have seven people doing it.

“So Nightwing, can you introduce us to your family?” M’gann asked excitedly, hovering slightly above the floor.

>Awesome,< thought Garfield through the telepathic link.

>Shh,< Karen, Jamie and Zatana shushed Garfield.

>Quiet,< Zatana instructed. >We cannot hear what is going on if you fill the link with chatter.<

“Ooooh,” clamoured the blonde-haired girl. “Let me!”

Nightwing nodded his head in agreement and gestured for her to begin. The blonde girl turned to face the team and squared her shoulders to begin her explanation.

“OK. So, I am Batgirl,” the blonde girl said, “Well, technically I am the third Batgirl. There were two other Batgirls before me.” She spun without pause and pointed to the black-haired girl. “That’s Black Bat. She was the Batgirl before me.” Turning again, she indicated the woman that Nightwing was tending to. “And this is Oracle; the original Batgirl. She was the first of us, aside from Robin and Batman, to be a part of the Bat family.”

“Oracle?” interrupted Wally. “As in THE Oracle that helps command Justice League missions and is in control of the Watchtower? That Oracle?”

“I thought Oracle was a computer program,” Artemis said in surprise, “Green Arrow never indicated that it was a person.”

“I’m flattered that you have heard of me,” Oracle said with a smile. “To answer your question, yes, I am that Oracle and no, I am not a computer program.”

“Sweet,” cheered Wally.

“So,” Batgirl continued as if there had not been any interruption, “You already know Nightwing,” she turned and pointed towards Hood, “that’s Red Hood. He usually acts independently, except when there is a major threat.”

Red Hood made a rude hand gesture at that last comment, which all of the bats ignored.

Batgirl indicated the team’s Robin and continued her explanation. “Now, your Robin is actually Red Robin. He was the third Robin and Red Hood was the second. He kept his old moniker with you guys, I’m not entirely sure why.”

At this she turned to the newly dubbed Red Robin with an inquiring look. He shrugged in response.

“It was easier than having to change all my access codes,” he answered conversationally.

“Only you could be that lazy, Replacement,” said Red Hood, as he handed Red Robin a painkiller and a glass of water.

“Anyway, lastly we have the current Robin,” Batgirl said as she pointed to the boy in the Robin costume.

“-tt-,” the boy said as he bound Black Bat’s injured ankle with surprising grace for someone with a cast, “I am the only true Robin. None of these cheap impersonators count.”

“Keep telling yourself that Demon brat,” Red Robin scoffed.

Wally and Artemis shared another look, this time of bemusement.

>You think that they could have come up with other names,< Wally joked. >Must be awfully confusing having all of these Robins and Batgirls running around.<

>I think it’s sweet,< M’gann thought.

>It is like an apprenticeship,< Kaldur thought. >They are Robin or Batgirl until they are ready. After that, they can choose their own name.<

“Rude,” Black Bat said suddenly as she pointed to M’gann and Kaldur. “No telepathic conversations if everyone not involved.”

“How could you tell?” M’gann asked in surprise.

“Black Bat is an expert in reading body language,” Robin – no it was Red Robin now – said with a grin. “It’s impossible to keep a secret from her.”

“Cool” said Conner, causing Black Bat to smile at him.

“Your broadcasting all of this to the rest of the team, aren’t you?” Nightwing asked with a sigh.

“Of course,” Artemis replied.

“Well, seeing as we are all patched up and the rest of the team is listening anyway, shall we find somewhere more comfortable and continue our talks?” Red Robin asked.

“Just got to check one more thing,” Nightwing said.

He jumped out of his chair and darted over to the cupboards at the back of the room. He opened one door, then another rooting around in the rarely used medical supplies. The team watched him as he opened yet another door and wondered what he could possibly be looking for. They heard a muffled cry of success and watched as Nightwing extracted his head from inside the cupboard and pulled out a box. Picking it up, he carried the box back to Oracle and placed it on the bed next to her. Opening the box, he pulled out a computer like object with a scanner attacked to it via a cable.

“OK O,” he said as he powered up the computer. “I am going to need you to lift your shirt up.”

The entire team shot each other confused looks except Conner, who smiled. Thanks to his super hearing, he already knew what Nightwing was going to check. Nightwing placed the scanner on Oracle’s stomach and a fuzzy image appeared on the screen.

After looking at it for a moment, Oracle declared, “Relax, our baby’s fine.”

The bats all relaxed when they heard that the baby was fine. Nightwing sagged slightly as the fear left his body, whilst Red Hood and Robin both shifted away from the pair, with a clearly feigned lack of interest. Black bat gentle placed a hand on Oracle’s stomach and Batgirl gave her a half hug around her shoulder. Red Robin just smiled.

Understanding flashed in M’gann and Kaldur’s eyes as they heard Oracle’s statement. Artemis and Conner smiled at the expectant parents, happy that everything was OK.

“I can hear the baby’s heart beat,” Conner said gaining everyone’s attention. “It sounds strong and regular but very fast.”

“It’s supposed to be fast,” Batgirl assured him. “Some baby’s hearts beat twice* as fast as an adults at rest.”

“Good to know,” Conner replied.

“Now that we know that everyone is well, let us go somewhere a little more comfortable to talk,” Kaldur suggested.

“Good idea,” said Red Robin. “Shall we head back to the rec. area?”

“I’ll get us some snacks,” M’gann said and flew out of the room towards the kitchen.

The bats and team all headed towards the door and exited the infirmary, with the exception of Nightwing, Oracle and Black Bat. Black Bat headed over to the corner of the infirmary where a wheel chair was located. She pushed the chair over to the bed upon which Oracle sat. Oracle smiled in thanks to Black Bat and shifted herself into the chair. Nightwing opened the door for her and she wheeled herself out of the infirmary, with Black Bat bringing up the rear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *60-100 beats per minute for an adult, 100-150 for a baby in the womb.
> 
> Ages of the Bat Family
> 
> Damian is 11  
> Tim and Stephanie are 14  
> Jason is 16  
> Cass just turned 17  
> Dick is 20  
> Babs is 22


	3. Chapter 3

The team and bats were all relaxing in the rec. area. Well, the bats were as relaxed as anyone trained by Batman could be with outsiders present, which was not very. Batgirl was sitting on a couch with Red Robin, leaning against his shoulder. The zeta tubes were in their peripheral vision and it was clear that they were ready to respond the moment that they activated. Red Hood was sprawled in an arm chair, his leg draped over one of the arm rests and an arm over the other. He was gazing at the roof, but it was clear that his focus was on the others in the room. None of the team doubted that he could respond to any threat in a split second. Robin wasn’t even pretending to relax like the other bats; he lent against the wall, keeping everyone in his field of view. He was inspecting a batarang and occasionally shooting bat glares at the newer members of the team, whom were clearly unsettled by the bats.

Jamie and Garfield shifted uncomfortably on the floor under this miniature bat’s glower and whispered to each other. “Dude, I think that’s Batman’s glare,” Garfield whispered.

“I know what you mean, ese,” responded Jamie. “It’s creepy as.”

“It’s called the bat-glare,” Red Hood said suddenly, startling both boys so much that they jumped a foot off of the floor. “All bat kids learn the glare. You should see how old Batsy reacts when faced with it.” He gave a barking laugh at the thought of Robin and Batman glaring at each other, neither willing to back down. 

Karen and Zatanna giggled to each other at the thought of Batman having to deal with his own glare. Artemis smiled as well and turned on the couch to look at Wally, only to see a sullen frown on his face. She sent him a questioning look, but all she got was a slight shake of the head and an even more severe frown. She heard the door that lead to the kitchen open and turned her head to look. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw all of the bats tense minutely and relax as they saw M’gann float in carrying a plate of slightly burnt home-made cookies and telepathically floating a box full of soft drink. Conner followed behind her and settled into an armchair as M’gann arranged the snacks on the table. Kaldur was watching Robin from his chair with a look of slight concern. He still remembered Oracle’s command for Red Hood and Robin not to kill each other and wanted to make sure that the violent youth did not attack any of his team.

“You may sit down, Robin,” Kaldur said kindly to the new boy. “We are all friends here.”

“-Tt-,” Robin sneered, not deigning to respond in words. He made an even greater show of toying with his batarang, looking pointedly at the team.

Kaldur frowned slightly at the young boy’s lack of response, but before he could comment further, the door leading to the infirmary opened and the remaining bats entered. Zatanna, Karen and Artemis all gasped in surprise when they saw Oracle wheeling herself in after Nightwing. A small cry of concern slipped between M’gann’s lips and she darted up towards Oracle. Her movement was halted by Conner, who placed a hand on her leg and gentle shook his head. Wally’s sullen look was replaced for a moment by one of surprised horror, before he remembered that he was meant to be angry. Oracle parked her wheelchair next to the chair which Nightwing flopped into. Black bat snagged a pair of cookies and handed one to Oracle. She then perched on the edge of Nightwing’s arm chair and nibbled on her snack. Nightwing shot her a betrayed look, clearly having expected a cookie himself. 

“Forgive me if you do not wish to talk about this topic,” Kaldur began hesitantly when none of the newcomers spoke, “but why are you in the wheelchair? From what we could tell in the infirmary, you sustained no injury in the attack to necessitate it.”

Kaldur watched the looks of pain and anger that flitted over the faces of the bats. He had expected the extreme look of fury that passed over Nightwing’s face, but it was a surprise to see the dark rage that was on Red Hood’s face. Oracle took a breath and squared her shoulders before answering. 

“Are any of you familiar with the Gotham rogue called the Joker?” she asked the team.

Wally winced at the name and Artemis unsuccessfully tried to repress a shudder. Kaldur frowned as the name struck a chord within him, but he could not remember any details. The rest of the team shook their heads in response to Oracle’s question. 

“Well,” Oracle said, “The Joker is one of the worst rogues that Gotham has ever had. He is completely insane and you can never know what he is going to do next. He would kill a cape as soon as look at one.” She paused for a moment and looked over at Red Hood as if asking for permission. Upon receiving a slight nod, she continued; “He even killed a Robin.”

There were gasps of horror from the team. Zatanna and Wally went white. M’gann’s hand covered her mouth and she turned to Conner who pulled her into a hug. Artemis had a stony look on her face, whilst the younger members of the team looked sick. 

“Who was it?” asked Conner. “Which Robin did he kill?

“Me,” Red Hood said simply.

“Um, ese,” said Jamie, “how could he have killed you when you are here now?”

“I’m just too awesome to stay dead,” Red Hood replied with a sardonic grin. “But seriously,” he said, becoming sombre, “you kids should know that death isn’t always permeant in this line of work. However, there is always a cost to being brought back, and you don’t want to have to pay it.”

After he finished, there was a moment of silence as everyone tried to assimilate what they had just learnt. Then Oracle spoke once more. “The Joker shot me a few years back. The bullet permanently damaged my spinal cord, ending my career as Batgirl. After I recovered, I became Oracle and took over the technical aspects of crime fighting,” 

“We are sorry for your loss,” Kaldur said and some of the team nodded at his statement.

Oracle nodded once and waved her hand dismissing their condolences.

Artemis picked up on the slightly awkward mood in the room and searched for a new topic of conversation. 

“So Nightwing, what’s going on with you and Oracle?” she asked with a knowing grin.

“Yeh,” said Wally spat accusatorily. “What other secrets you have kept from your friends?”

“Wally!” she rebuked with a smack on the arm.

“Come on, Babe,” he complained. “We didn’t even know that he had a girlfriend and now we suddenly find out that he is going to be a dad! As his best friend, I think he should have told me that he had a girlfriend.”

“Fiancée,” Nightwing corrected. “O is my fiancée. I asked her to marry me before we found out about the baby.”

“See,” Wally said dramatically. “It’s like we don’t even know each other anymore.”

“Don’t talk to my brother like that,” snarled Robin, pushing off the wall and menacingly stalking towards Wally. “He is a good man.”

“Yeh,” said Red Robin, “Di- Nightwing and Oracle are planning to invite all of their caped friends to the wedding.”

“Sure,” scoffed Wally.

“What Red Robin said is true,” replied Nightwing. “We’ve been having a couple of hellish month in Gotham and haven’t had much of a chance to spread the good news. The only ones who know are the family.”

“Still,” Wally said, only slightly mollified, “you should have told us that you have a girlfriend.”

There was a moment of quiet after this statement. Nightwing rose from his seat and walked over to Wally. “I’m sorry,” he said looking Wally straight in the eye. “You are my friend and I should have told you.” He looked at the other members of the team. “You too,” he said. “I didn’t need to keep everything in my civilian life hidden from you guys.”

“Thanks mate,” said Wally in a tone that indicated that he had forgiven Nightwing.

“Hey, does this mean that you are going to tell us your civilian identity?” asked Karen.

“If Batman gives us permission, then yes,” Nightwing replied.

“Why do you need his permission?” asked Zatanna. “You are your own hero now. If you want to tell us, why can’t you?”

“Because,” Red Robin said, before Nightwing could, “if you know the identity of one bat, it is easy to figure out the rest.”

“Well I guess that explains Batman’s paranoia about you keeping your identity hidden,” Zatanna replied. 

All of the bats nodded their heads at that statement. “Gotham rouges are ruthless,” Batgirl said. “If any of them found out our civilian identities, it would be a massacre. The more people who know, the greater the chance that our enemies will find out.”

The younger members of the team had slightly sceptical looks, unable to understand why the bats were implying that the Gotham rogues finding out would be worse than any of their cities’ villains finding out. The more experienced heroes, especially those with mentors on the justice league, nodded in understanding. The villains that existed in their cities paled in comparison to the evil that stalked the streets of Gotham.

“If there are no other questions,” Kaldur said, “perhaps you could tell us about the attack that drove you to retreat into the cave.”


End file.
